Page 25 of The Lies We Tell

He skimmed his lips across her jaw to her earlobe, fingers tightening on her nipple while he whispered in her ear. “What else have you thought about, piccola?”

This was it. This was her perfect moment. On her back, legs spread. She shook her father’s voice from her mind. This might mean different things to Matteo than it did to her, but that didn’t mean she had to ruin the experience for herself.

“I want—”

She was cut off by the sharp ring of his phone, the noise so loud and unexpected she jumped. Matteo released her nipple with a groan. But not the good kind.

“One second. Let me just…”

He wrestled the phone from his pocket, and for the first time, she realized how hard he was. For her. She wanted to touch him, feel how he’d reacted to her touch and her kiss and her body pressed against his. But he swore under his breath and stepped away.

“I’m sorry. I have to take this.” He shot a look at the door and then back at her.

“Right. Of course.”

She hopped off the desk and wobbled her way to the door, hoping he didn’t notice how badly she was still shaking. The smile on his face told her he knew just what kind of effect he had on her. Let him stroke his ego with that for a while. It could only work in her favor.

“Close the door,” he said when she reached it.

Once the latch clicked in the frame, she pressed her ear against it and listened for any sound. Nothing. The door was too thick, or Matteo was talking too quietly. She’d have to push on with her plan to seduce him. At least now she knew if she kissed him, he’d kiss her back.

She didn’t like the idea of whoring herself out for her father’s benefit. But she couldn’t deny she wanted Matteo’s lips and hands on her again. If this was the path she was forced to take, she could at least enjoy the ride.

Chapter Ten

It was dark by the time Matteo finished his calls. He’d been busy laying the groundwork for their first big strike against Antonetti’s network. Well, technically, it was two strikes. One a distraction for a mid-level Russian mob boss and the other an effort to poach his Spanish drug supplier.

Tessa’s information had proven useful, making it easy to identify one of the names he hadn’t recognized on the list of contacts he’d gotten from Callum. The relationship was breaking down because Antonetti was attempting to go behind their backs and do business with the Columbians directly. Cut out the middleman. Bad for him, good for them.

Within a week, they’d hit Antonetti in two directions. Cutting off drug money he laundered through his hotels and distracting an ally with a lot of muscle so they couldn’t be relied on for backup should Antonetti require it. Once they were dealt with, he’d drill down into the next layer of Antonetti’s international circle.

The goal was to strip him of enough allies that Matteo could take the rest by force. Unlike Gallo, Antonetti didn’t trust politicians. He preferred to align himself with other criminals. Matteo liked to do both.

But like politicians, some criminals were loyal to a fault. You couldn’t always pay them to turn the other cheek or switch sides. The trick was weeding out the ones who were loyal only to what Antonetti could do for them and not to the man himself.

He’d already pegged a few, but it would be easier to go after them once he sidelined the Russians and made a deal with the Spaniards. The Spanish were rumored to be the only entry point for Colombian cocaine into Europe. If Matteo could out Antonetti as a snake and strike a deal with them, he’d line his pockets nicely.

More drug profits meant more money to build up the legitimate businesses he envisioned, including a complete overhaul of Gallo Industries under the Bianchi name. Sienna had come to him with some great ideas he wouldn’t mind implementing.

But this first. He’d already started laying the foundation for pitting the Russians against their biggest enemy. Alexei had been translating messages from their contact for days. And in two days’ time, Alexei would head to Russia himself to set the fire and fan the flames.

While Alexei was in Russia, Luca would be in Spain with Sienna, who spoke fluent Spanish. Matteo would prefer to go; his Spanish was good enough to negotiate a deal, and this wasn’t normally something he would task someone else with. But there was too much to see to at home. Too many irons in the fire, too much to think about.

Not the least of which was the curvy, raven-haired siren sleeping across the hall. She’d been flirting with him all week. Or trying to. He had no interest in the demure act she was putting on. That wasn’t what he liked about her. He liked her quick wit and razor-sharp tongue.

He liked the fire he’d seen in her eyes when she’d told him to wait and asked him to take her away from Syracuse. God help him, he liked the attitude when she’d refused to give up her phone.

Most of all, he liked that she’d given up on subtlety and taken what she wanted. He’d given it to her without hesitation. And he would have gone a lot farther than his lips and teeth on her skin if not for work intruding on their moment of sin.

But work was over now. And there was plenty of time between now and sunrise for sinning.

Pushing away from the desk, he crossed the room and turned off the light, locking the door behind him. A new habit. Another concession to get Luca to shut the fuck up about Tessa being in the house.

Matteo climbed the stairs, already loosening his tie and unbuttoning his vest. Her light was on, a thin gold line against the tile, and he stared at it while he undid his cufflinks and set them in the velvet-lined box on top of his dresser.

Making his way across the hall, he stopped outside her door and lifted his fist to knock, hesitating when he heard voices on the other side. Was she on the phone with someone? He strained to hear words, but all he could make out was raised voices.

He knocked quickly, and the voices immediately went silent. When she opened the door, she was still fully dressed, and his eyebrows shot up at the sight of her in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt at this hour.

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